When people are faced with life-threatening cancer, They often seek information about the disease and support from their peers. The best sources of information for them are the personal stories of other cancer patients, published in the online forums and scientific sites that help patients cope with severe stress situations.

TV entertainment shows and medical dramas, on the contrary, make people feel more fear and anxiety for his life, as the plot lines and twists of such transfers should be anxious to keep the audience's attention.

This was reported by scientists from the University of Leuven and the University of Michigan in the new study, published in the «Journal of Cancer Education» magazine.

Many studies have previously focused on how cancer patients are trying to find support for using the internet. Now scientists have examined how patients use Internet resources and TV to find similar stories of peers, and how it affects their emotional state.

Using data from the Information Studies of the University of Leuven cancer, they analyzed data on 621 people in Belgium, who was diagnosed with cancer. The average age of participants was 54 years old, and most of them were women. Respondents reported that television history causes them anxiety, fear and concern, and the use of forums was associated with a feeling of support. These different emotional responses may be a result of differences between such different categories of content (and not fictitious fictional story).

The study also identified the differences between men and women with cancer. The fair sex more often were searching for stories of other people's disease.